10 posts from June 2007

June 29, 2007

Reprinted from Bytes in Brief by permission of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., www.senseient.com

On May 23, 2007, a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District ofCalifornia ruled that warrantless searches of three defendants’ cellularphones violated their Fourth Amendment rights. In 2004, the threedefendants, Edward Park, Brian Ly, and David Lee, were arrested during theraid of a marijuana hothouse. After they were taken to the San FranciscoPolice Department, the defendants’ belongings were inventoried includingtheir cell phones. However, before the phones were placed in propertybags, SFPD Inspector David Martinovich searched defendant Lee’s cell phoneand instructed other inspectors to do the same with the other defendant’sphones. Martinovich admitted to perusing the defendant’s phone and writingdown the contacts list before turning it over to the property clerk butclaimed that the search was a permissible booking search. When thedefendants filed a motion to suppress evidence found on their phones, theprosecution defended the search by likening it to the search of anarrestee’s wallet which is permissible. However, the court disagreed withthe government’s analogy and found that a warrantless search of a cellphone goes far beyond the rationale for searches incident to arrest. Thejudge concluded that there was no basis for an immediate search of thephones such as to prevent concealment or destruction of evidence, andtherefore, the police had time to obtain a proper search warrant. Althoughin this particular case the court ruled the searches unconstitutional, thejudge noted that the Fifth Circuit handed down a contrary ruling and thatneither the Ninth Circuit nor the Supreme Court had addressed the issue.The defendants’ motion may be found athttp://www.politechbot.com/docs/cell.phone.4a.brief.052907.pdf and thegovernment’s reply may be found athttp://www.politechbot.com/docs/cell.phone.doj.supplemntal.brief.052907.pdf

June 24, 2007

This is not a regular topic in my blog but I just read, and want to share with you, the abject horrors of condo living. Buyer Beware! Condogate: Dying to Get Out by Donie Vanitzianis an invaluable insight into what one might expect emotionally, financially and legally when trouble starts brewing in the Homeowners Association. The arrogance of the board of directors is highlighted. For even more information, log onto American Homeowners Resource Center. Donie Vanitzian writes the Los Angeles Times Homeowner Associations column and is a UCLA Extension Professor for the course, Protecting Yourself in Common Interest Living. Her writing style is concise, engaging and filled with invaluable information.

June 19, 2007

Drug DIgest provides an invaluable service the general public. It allows you to check potential interactions* between two or more drugs with the following caveat:

*Note: Not all drug interactions are known or reported in the literature, and new drug interactions are continually being reported. This information is provided only for your education and for you to discuss with your personal health care provider.

Always check with your physician and/or pharmacist regarding drug interactions. Drug Digest, of course, only provides a guide but is not necessarily conclusive. Your physician is best equipped to advise you as to drug interactions.

CNN has done an incredible expose on the tactics and strategies of major insurance carriers whose strategy is to deny, delay and defend claims where a person is, through no fault of his/her own, injured in a minor collision. The strategy is to make initial offers far below your medical bills which forces you into the court system. At that point, the auto insurers make it so expensive to litigate the matter that injured persons and their lawyers will be dissuaded from pursuing legitimate claims.

Are you in good hands with Allstate? Quoting from the CNN article, "Playing off Allstate's signature slogan, one document recommends the insurer put boxing gloves on its "good hands" for those who insist on going to court."

June 18, 2007

This is part 2, Legendary "shock" driving safety film featuring numerous scenes of mutilated cars and injured/dead people and a voiceover lacking in compassion. Produced in cooperation with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and shown to millions of young drivers for over 40 years. CONTENT ADVISORY: Many disturbing scenes of violent deaths and accident scenes; cries of crash victims on soundtrack.

This is part 1Legendary "shock" driving safety film featuring numerous scenes of mutilated cars and injured/dead people and a voiceover lacking in compassion. Produced in cooperation with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and shown to millions of young drivers for over 40 years. CONTENT ADVISORY: Many disturbing scenes of violent deaths and accident scenes; cries of crash victims on soundtrack.

June 17, 2007

Despite public perception that lawyers are not held accountable for their actions, State Bar disciplinary committees have historically kept our profession in line. Of course, the Duke University debacle starring now disgraced and disbarred prosecutor Mike Nifong, is currently the most notable. His flagrant zealous and dishonest prosecution of three Duke University Lacrosse Team Members appears to have been for his own political gain. Several stories are currently in the news breaking out in excruciating detail the havoc that he wreaked on the innocent players, their families, Duke University and more. Interesting articles abound on the net and here are links to just a few: MSNBC, Newsday.com, AM New York, Wall Street Journal which also includes a link to the actual North Carolina State Bar Complaint against Nifong, and Reuters.

Prosecutorial Disbarments in the Past

Mike Nifong is not the only prosecutor to go down in disgrace. It is important, in my opinion, to note that the State Bar Associations throughout the United States take attorney ethical violations very seriously and act accordingly upon them. Here is a smattering of previous disbarments, along with links to relevant articles:

June 10, 2007

In this Ford Motor Company Video, a professional driver talks about the importance of keeping your eyes on the road when you're driving. It's from Ford Motor Company's Driving Skills for Life program, which is designed to help young drivers improve their skills in four key areas that are critical factors in more than 60% of teen vehicle crashes, hazard recognition, vehicle handling, space management and speed management.

In this Ford Motor Company Video, a professional driver gives some important tips on how to recover from a skid from Ford Motor Company's Driving Skills for Life program. It is designed to help young drivers improve their skills in four key areas that are critical factors in more than 60% of teen vehicle crashes, hazard recognition, vehicle handling, space management and speed management.